What a year! Our heartfelt thank you to the Find a Grave community! It’s time to review and reflect on all that you have accomplished together!
Memorials Added
In 2023, you walked the world’s cemeteries and added 13.7 million memorials from your records and documentation.
In January 2003, there were only 3.9 million memorials total on the site.
Photo Requests Fulfilled
That’s the same number of smiles, joy, and thank you’s from the requesters.
Photos Added
A very small portion of the 20.7 million photos you added make up this beautiful one.
Edits processed
Thanks to you Find a Grave is 43 million times better. 🙂 You’re angels. Way to work together! It truly is incredible what you have accomplished this past year! Thank you for you!
Honored to be someone who adds, corrects & helps families. Only one time a manager refused to change information on my family. Requested transfer and “crickets.” Tried to contact FG to request transfer and was referred back to manager. The manager was not a relative. Only time I’ve been disappointed in FG. This site found a missing uncle and three cousins I never knew. For me, a very grateful thank you to the creators, managers and “helpers” on FG.
We’re sorry for this frustration. Did you send in your copy of the email where you requested a transfer? If your relationship was within transfer guidelines, our support team will reach out to the manager and ask for their relationship. Then we can make a determination on the transfer request and move forward with it if the manager is not related. If you didn’t send in your copy of the original email (where you reached out to the manager), please send that to us along with an explanation (to support@findagrave.com) and we’ll start this process.
With respect, the existing transfer guidelines are terrible, bordering on stupid.
Who is a better manager of a memorial? A great-great-grandchild of the deceased, or a person managing over 500,000 memorials who is not at all related to the deceased?
According to your transfer guidelines, it’s the latter person, even though they do absolutely nothing with suggested memorial edits, allowing them to spin out to the maximum 21 days before they are automatically accepted by Find-a-Grave.
Surely it is better to have a memorial managed by a relative, no matter how distant, rather than by these memorial collectors (of no relation whatsoever) who seem to only be interested in amassing huge numbers of memorials for the bragging rights.
I totally agree with Stewart W.! I too have been told that I can not be the manager of my own family because I am too far removed. They have even told me that the person who created the memorial is an active member (as I am) but when I message and request many times over several months with no response it tells me that they are not active. I even asked them to respond even if they do not want to transfer so I will not bother them again but again with no response. This rule needs to be updated as you will not find anyone still alive, for some of these memorials, that will fit into this box you have set up. I want my families memorial taken care of by family no matter how distant they are. Some of these managers/creators don’t bother updating information or even care about these memorials except that they are a number on their site. Please consider changing this rule so families can take care of their own.
I have had that happen numerous times with 4LostHistory , they will not relinquish management of a memorial even when I have proof of relation to the memorial nor will they change father information with proof of birth certificate as they say “that’s not what obit says”, well you can put anything in an obit but not on an official government record (birth certificate) – they need to check themselves !!
Hello,
That has happened to me more than once. I’ve had to resort to creating a new memorial with the correct information. I know this is frowned upon but hopefully the inaccurate one will eventually be deleted.
What is the estimated total of marked graves in the US in your Find-a-Grave database? Would you dare to even guess, what percentage that is of the current marked graves in the US? Been wondering about this for awhile.
I have spent the last year focusing on enhancing and adding gravesites to Find a Grave. It is such and important site to so many who’s family are listed here. I live about a thousand miles from where my parents are buried and through FG I can see their graves. And if I ever get over there it will be no problem finding and visiting. Surely, many people feel the same way because of Find a Grave.
FG is a wonderful site. I have used it many many times. It is wonderful to help people who miss their loved ones.
The whole idea is that when you use the site and get such good info that you owe it back for some time to come to repeat what others have done and be a researcher in cemeteries in your area.
Paul B. Edwards CPA
Yes!!
Find a Grave is an invaluable resource.
I have checked Find a Grave for an ancestor. I find the information given is incorrect. How can this be corrected?
Thanks for your comment and interest in correcting data on the site. If you click the “Suggest Edits” button on the memorial page for your ancestor, you can submit corrected data to the memorial manager to review.
Find a Grave needs to reevaluate the type of documents they let be uploaded to a memorial by anybody without approval of the memorial manager. I have found documents with sensitive information on family members memorials that took an act of congress to get removed. Just because it can be added doesn’t mean it should !!
Some of those docompuserve.comcuments are publicly available on government sites!
Some documents are available online – but it is not a stranger’s right to make the decision on what should be attached to the memorial especially if the deceased has living relatives !!
Is there a way to have uploaded documents treated as Edits, so that they must be approved by the Memorial Manager?
Honestly, that would be a great option if FG would do that .
This has been a wonderful site to access. Over the years, I have been able to correct things, add things and be corrected. It is a living testament to those who realize the importance of leaving records behind. I began trying to preserve my grandmother’s genealogy research and got hooked. I am hoping that sharing my small piece, of what I know for a fact, will be useful for others. Research has allowed me to connect with a cousin, I didn’t know I had, half way around the world. We were fortunate enough to meet him, before he passed.
Enjoyed this message, please continue to keep us informed.
I agree that the addition and edit process should be reviewed. Obits should not be added Willy nilly. Our family did not appreciate an obit added within a day of the local publishing. Yes of course it’s public information but it was totally insensitive. When I tried to get some of it removed I never got a response.
The caretaker of Mount Hope Cemetery, Webb City Mo., told me, several years ago, about FG and I have been using it ever since. It has been so helpful to be able to have a picture to aid with finding a grave in a cemetery where there is no map (and sometimes even when there is!) I have found various ancestors and distant cousins graves because of some wonderful members who have posted pictures.
I was overjoyed on receiving an email last year with photos of my grandparents grave in a cemetery in Cape Town South Africa. So grateful to the photographer who tracked down the grave. I had put in the request some years ago and had given up on the idea that anything would come of it.
Thank you! You are my hero!
I do love this site as it allows me to document my relatives who were cremated and don’t have grave sites to visit. I know these loved ones now have a voice. My son, sister, and brother-in-law.
What is the process to document cremated family, please? Is that only for when the cremated remains are deposited in a crematorium etc.? What about for ashes that are scattered? Thanks.
Thanks for your question. When you create a new memorial, the first step is to choose the burial location. At the bottom of that page, there is a checkbox for “Not buried in a cemetery?” Checking that will give you the options you need for cremation. Hope that helps!
Wonderful work! I claimed 2 photo requests this year, something new for me. Wasn’t successful, however, and let requestors know. Also went through all the photos I’ve taken over the years and was able to upload 3 that didn’t have gravemarker photo. Will do more in 2024!
This is just amazingly awesome too me! What a miracle that I do indeed participate and enjoy.
Thank you to everyone that does a huge part in this great endeavor.
I was able to add a cemetery that has my great grandparents, with the help of a friend. To my knowledge I am the only one living that knows where it is. They were buried on their farm so it was never named as a cemetery. I am so glad to put it on the map so they are not “lost” forever. I am happy to add a lot of my family to this site.
Hi Jerri Breeding Levitsky,
I’m so happy for you
That’s a big deal that you’ve found the gravesite and documented it for posterity
The Breeding name is one found here in my husbands hometown
I don’t think I’ve seen it before or sense
Many of the folks here have farm gravesites/cemeteries
It is a common thing here but many forget to delve into that when looking
Very helpful for all of us to know these tidbits
Thank you for sharing
KH
I am happy to add pictures and do edits. I don’t add a lot of memorials, but try to get existing ones “complete” if that makes sense.
My only issue is when people want to edit a memorial where the couple was divorced and connect them that way. There’s no way to differentiate that there was a split. If the child shows both parents that should be enough, but I’ve run into people who REALLY want to add that divorced spouse. There’s a reason why they divorced and that should be respected in the memorial.
If you are not a family member of the deceased you do not have the right to make the decision on whether a previous spouse should be attached, especially if children are involved.
I’m not sure where rights of this sort are granted or not granted. You are expressing an opinion, which certainly is a valid thing to do. If an obituary mentions a previous spouse and children are involved, then the information is already publicly available and if the source of the memorial chooses to include it then so be it. If a family member objects, that person should contact the source and request that the information be removed and the memorial transferred. If the original source refuses, FindaGrave should be contacted and the requests made directly to them. It is FindaGraves responsibility to do so
I too find this site has great value in my work on my family tree. And I have added several memorials and made corrections or added information on hundreds of graves.
So far, my guess is that 99% of my edited have been accepted. And the few that were rejected were explained, except for the following.
A managers refusal to remove a man’s sibling who was also correctly connected to him as his wife, even after 3 or 4 explanations, alerted me to this manager. That problem still exists.
Another request for changes was refused. The same manager has 3 siblings listed on a family that states there was only one child born to the parents. I worked with FG and one child was resolved. But edits for the 2nd wrong child have not been accepted or rejected. So I do not have the rejection explanation.
Now I wonder how many edits I made were never accepted or rejected.
Other than keeping track myself, is there anyway to find that information?
Thanks for writing in. Here is an article from our support site that will show you how to view the suggested edits you’ve sent. You can contact support@findagrave.com about the other issue with this particular manager. Please include all the details and it will be reviewed. Here is a link to another article about questions regarding managers and managing memorials.
I find the Find-a-Grave site to be extremely useful. I spend a lot of time searching for and documenting the gravesites of former ballplayers. Anytime I am in a cemetery I check the site to see if there are any other “photo requests”. If I may offer a tip. When requesting a photo request, call the cemetery and ask for grave location to include in the request. As we know many cemeteries are quite large and a Section (at least) would be most helpful.
I find the increase and content of the advertising on “memorials” so despicable that I am now ashamed to have contributed.
I was answering a photo request. They wanted the woman’s marker. I located it and found that it was a pylon with two names on three sides. The woman and her husband on the side near the path. The left had a son and daughter. The right side had another son and daughter. Only the Mother had a FG memorial. I posted the front photo to her memorial. Then I created memorials for the other 5. When the manager of the Mother’s memorial asked for the transfer of the others to her, I was glad to do it. The same manager had another request at a cemetery about 4 miles away. I checked in the office to locate the site. They marked where it should be on a map. I couldn’t find it. I went back to the office. The 3 x 5 card from their file said there was a marker. It also said the plot was owned by the the man I was looking for. It also told me there were 3 plots side by side , they had a son and daughter. The son died at a Naval Home in DC. and his body was shipped to this Philadelphia site. This man’s wife had remarried and was buried in Wisconsin with her second husband. I contacted the woman who sent me there. She knew the man was in that cemetery but not his son and daughter. I sent a picture of the grassy plot with no stone. I told the office that I could not find the plot. They sent a maintenance man with me. He verified that there was no marker although the card said there was. He said the the soil was too soft. Small markers often sank beneath to surface. They were in the middle of their Spring clean up. In June, when they had time, they would run a thin probe down to the vault. if they could locate a stone resting on the vault, they would dig it up and block it so it would not sink again. There would be no charge if they found a stone unless I was in a rush. I could pay them $50 to probe now. I told them it wasn’t a relative of mine but I would pass the offer on. Please do the probe in June unless you hear from me. The woman was willing to wait. There was no stone. She asked for 2 photos and got 7 people she knew existed but not where they were.
I am very appreciative of those managers who transfer management of ancestors memorials to me even if the ancestors are not “close” as defined by FG. I also appreciate those managers who honor our family’s requests.
My great x3 grandfather, the first to emigrate to the US from Austria, had an unmarked grave. I was very happy and proud that I could afford to place a simple marker on his grave. The manager, however, refused to transfer management to me. He was not a relative whatsoever! He was merely someone trying to add as many memorials to the site so he could to get his numbers “up”. He managed well over 200K+ memorials. It seems that there used to be (still is?) a contest for those adding the most. Something is very wrong with this!
Another manager refused our family request to remove the notation of a suicide, describing in detail how it was done. In browsing through the memorials he managed, it appears he is obsessed with adding those people who have tragic deaths (suicides, car accidents, fires, murders, etc.). He finds the deaths from newspaper clippings or death certificates. This is just SICK!
Send a copy of the email to FG and explain they might can help you and I agree with you ; this is something I have been trying to have addressed for several years ; non family members being allowed to add such documents to memorials .
It seems to me the answer is to simply have two forms of credit for those out there attempting to hoard counts through contests etc. “Original memorial creator” & “memorial owner”, should be enough to still allow those who like to contribute for the credit to receive credit for their count, but the “owner” should get final say and full control on the memorial itself. This would enable another contest category which could possibly help solve the problem… a stat of how many memorials were returned to the family of the deceased. If that was tracked, FG could incentivize this in a way that it becomes the most desirable stat ‘win’ and have the side effect of encouraging those to properly forward the ownership of the memorial. A win-win scenario in my books.
Thanks for your comment. If we understand your comment correctly, that is how it works on the site. At the bottom of the page where the manager is listed, you’ll also so “Originally Created by:” and the name of the original creator. Here’s an example, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67094611/daniel-jordan-hundley
Okay, I am new to FG, excuse my unfamiliarity. I guess I don’t understand why there is such an issue with the amount of people hoarding memorials. Seems illogical to me if there is a means in place to still allow credit after giving the memorial over to the family. Are there recognitions in place for those who care about that sort of thing (I would not care personally) so they don’t lose their ‘credit’ for the memorial?
I tried to add information to a page & it was removed. Oddly, it was there one day & gone the next.
I have been using the site for many years and am a strong believer that one must put back in what you want to take out, so to this end I have been actively managing memorials, and adding appropriate photos when traced. It is an amazing site, and does so much good for people.
I am having an issue with one “manager” who just won’t answer a request to transfer a memorial or isn’t seeing the request for some reason…. I will persevere though.
Don’t know anything about how to research genealogies, create memorials, etc., and am not on Facebook or anything as I am old myself. But I love Find a Grave because I can visit the grave sites of family and friends all over the country and honor them by placing flowers on their graves virtually. I am still honoring them. This is an invaluable service for those who cannot possibly visit these cemeteries in person. Thank you.
Can I say a huge huge thank you to all you guys that get us photo’s of our Ancestors. They make the journey final if that makes sense. Sometimes I am astounded at the amount of photo’s that I get given and all for free. You work hard so we can get it for free. Some go above and beyond and I greatly appreciate it. Thank you doesn’t seem enough but that is all I have. Gale Schreurs.
I enjoy Find a Grave. I like taking photos and suggesting edits. When I find a gravestone that is not listed on the site and create a memorial, I hope that I have helped someone find their family member. Several times, memorials that I have volunteered to take photos or suggested edits for have later been deleted (not merged, but deleted) by the memorial manager. They are gone. Do you (Find a Grave) have a way to prevent this from happening? If a memorial manager gets upset and deletes their memorials, they are also deleting the contributions of others.
The only way I’ve been able to see my father’s grave with the headstone and have an exact location to it’s whereabouts(the cemetery is huge and confusing) is because of this site. The only way there’s even so much as a memorial page online (for some reason, the wife in charge didn’t bother with an obituary) is cuz of my ability to make a memorial page for him. Now it shows up when you Google his name ! (Idk why it was so important to me, but it’s helped me accept it rather than cling to the thin reasoning being that there’s no obituary to be found as my last hope this is all a dream.)
Thank you, so much.
Dear Faith, please don’t cry because there is no obituary as you can write one for him. Who would know more about him than you, no one. Include the facts of his life, name his parent, his wives, his children, grandchildren, include his employment, military, his hobbies, the moments that brought his greatest joys, his pets, and submit it to his memorial, and then set back and feel proud of yourself, as people will read and know a little bit more about him for years and years and years to come.
I’ve enjoyed working with Find a Grave and discovering so much information on the different families I’m connected to and also different families I’m familiar with. I have been updating or correcting things I know for accuracy for different ones. However, two individual obituaries I added to people I knew were rejected. The mangers both explained it was because of surviving family members still living. To me this is frustrating as if I’m going to spend time inputting the information on the deceased person life and their accomplishments there surviving family need to be connected to their loved one. Plus I’ve had a couple updates accepted by the manager, but then it still doesn’t show the updates in the memorial, but for the most part Find a Grave is a good site to work with.
So, post the obituary on FamilySearch.
I’ve been adding graves for several years now. It is always a joy to get a thank you from someone who has found someone they were looking for. I was at one of my cemeteries recently and a couple were wandering around scratching their heads. I asked if I could help and they showed me a my picture of a grave I photographed several years ago. For some reason I remembered this grave for its poor condition. I took them to the plot. The man was overcome with emotion. I said I’d leave them to it. But they took the time to come after me and thank me for my efforts . It made it all worthwhile.